And the most valuable brand is ...

Monday, March 17, 2014 3:26 PM

Ankeny-based Casey's General Stores Inc. is the most valuable brand in Iowa, with a brand value of $1.7 billion, according to a study released today by brand valuation consultant Brand Finance, a brand value consulting company.

Brand Finance calculated brand value by determining the royalties a corporation would have to pay to license its brand if it did not own it, and came up with a list of the United States' top 500 brands.

Casey's is the only Iowa brand on the list, and is the 345th most valuable brand in the country. Of note, the study determined that there were 19 billion-dollar brands outside the top 500, with Cedar Rapids-based Rockwell Collins Inc. making that list.

California and New York by far had the most brand value by state on the top 500 list. California companies had a total brand value of $484.4 billion, and New York companies had a total brand value of $421.8 billion. Texas was No. 3 on that list, with its companies having a value of $191.5 billion.

Not surprisingly, technology was the most valuable industry, as tech companies accounted for $552.5 billion of total brand valuation. Apple Inc., Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp. were the top three overall brands, in that order.